Local Non-Profit Launches Language School
October 25, 2010 marks the grand opening of a new language school operating out of Punta Mita, Puerto Vallarta, and Sayulita. Organized and run by local non-profit PEACE, the schools are customized to meet the needs of English speaking tourists and expats in Mexico by blending vocabulary and grammar with cultural activities catered for everyday use abroad.
Through three levels of Survival Spanish (2 1/2 hour, five-day courses) taught by experienced, bilingual teachers, students will learn how to ask for directions, use Mexican currency, request help, order food and know what to do in case of an emergency. Students will also receive important cultural tips that will enrich their visit including activities such as salsa dancing, Mexican slang, Mexican cooking or learning about Mexican history, art and music.
Schedule:
Monday through Friday 9 am to 11:30 am
Second week of every month: Punta de Mita
Third week of every month: Puerto Vallarta
Fourth week of every month: Sayulita
For more information contact peacelanguageinfo(at)peacemexico.org.
Local Artisan Co-Op Goes Global
Local non-profit, PEACE has recently introduced PEACE Boutique, an online web store featuring a selection of hand-made items made by a group of women in the Bahia de Banderas.
Manos Unidas por la Mujer (United Hands for Women,) one of four main programs at PEACE, unites women from the Bay of Banderas, Mexico, so they can support and build each other up financially and emotionally.
These forty women create hand-made artwork made from low cost, recycled materials. With the proceeds from sales, they are able to increase their financial independence and provide for their families. Members are divided into groups according to material used (wood, paper, embroidery) and are headed by a Manos Unidas coordinator - a local woman who has shown a strong sense of leadership, responsibility, craftsmanship & pride in her work. All of the products are made with quality, not charity in mind.
Although financial benefits provide needed relief for economic stresses, the co-op has an
over-arching focus on education and camaraderie. Women participate in bi-monthly workshops focused on ecology, self-esteem, parenting and nutrition. Through this process all have become intimate friends.
“Manos Unidas is a blessing for me, because I am able to work from home and take care of my girls at the same time. I want to keep learning new things each day.”- Tere , Manos Unidas member.
To view a selection of products made by the women of Manos Unidas por la Mujer, visit www.thepeaceboutique.com. For access to the wholesale page or to request a customized order, please email theboutique@peacemexico.org.
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Destination : PEACE
If you like the following video, read our article about Destination:PEACE here!
Destination:PEACE
By now, it’s no secret that Banderas Bay is a great place for a vacation. The area’s beaches, food, and activities have attracted visitors and kept them coming back for decades. But a growing number of people are starting to look for a different kind of experience – they want to make a positive difference in the places they travel and learn more about a new culture.
Enter Destination:PEACE, offering “voluntourism” opportunities in Banderas Bay. The idea for the company was conceived by sisters Molly and Katherine Fisher while riding a train in Italy in 2009. Molly Fisher founded PEACE, an amazing non-profit organization dedicated to Protection, Education, Animals, Culture, and Environment back in 2005. Destination:PEACE is a natural extension of these ideas, and a way to bring more people together. As Molly says, “It’s the uniqueness of combining a true volunteer opportunity with getting to know the community at the ground level. In just a few days, we can show [volunteers] what they would never be able to experience on their own – things that have taken us years to figure out.”
When you take a vacation with Destination:PEACE, you’ll be volunteering three hours per day to help local communities in need. And since the company works closely with PEACE, no two vacations will be the same. Helping at animal clinics, helping with community composting projects, helping local women make handicrafts, and helping children learn yoga are just a few opportunities.
When you’re not volunteering, you’ll be learning more about Mexico and having amazing experiences. Destination:PEACE offers two themes of vacation. The first theme is the active/adventure vacation, in which you’ll be experiencing the natural wonders of Banderas Bay through hiking, surfing lessons, whale watching, and turtle releases. The other theme is the culture vacation, in which you’ll participate in Mexican cooking classes, salsa dancing lessons, and art classes. In addition, both the active and culture vacations feature daily yoga classes.
Your lodging will be an experience in itself. Participants in Destination:PEACE’s vacations stay at Ayia, a resort in beautiful Punta de Mita. The rooms are 2,600 square feet, and include fully-equipped gourmet kitchens. You’ll also have access to all of Ayia’s amenities: a beach club, kayaks, tennis courts, and the longest pool (200 yards) in Mexico are just a few.
You won’t be disappointed when it comes to food, either. You’ll eat two or three meals at local beach restaurants in Punta de Mita, but the rest of your meals will be catered and brought directly to your condo by NAEF Cuisine, a gourmet catering company based in Punta de Mita.
Currently, all Destination:PEACE vacations start on a Saturday and end the following Thursday. Total group sizes for each vacation are between four and twelve people, in order to keep things more intimate. The cost is $999 if you’re sharing a room with family or friends, and $1399 if you want your own room. This price includes everything – your lodging, meals, and activities. People of all ages are welcome - as Katherine says, "We invite everyone. Our mission and our vision include everyone."
We asked Katherine what participants can expect to take away from a Destination:PEACE experience. She said, “What we really want people to walk away with is the memory of giving back in a special way, so that when they leave they feel really good about the volunteer events they participated in. Remembering the kids’ smiles, remembering when a dog wakes up from surgery… at the end of the day, we want our guests to be able to go back and tell their friends, ‘I hung out with five kids from this community, and taught them the alphabet.’”
If you've been thinking about visiting Banderas Bay, and you're interested in combining a luxurious vacation with life-changing experiences that you'll never forget, visit Destination:PEACE's website, or contact Molly or Katherine below.
Testimonials:
"We enjoyed the ultimate family vacation through Destination:PEACE. From painting a mural at the school with the kindergartners, to helping at the mobile spay and neuter clinic, to whale watching, there was something for everyone in the family to enjoy. We are so impressed with the loving, respectful relationship between the staff and the village. Our only regret is that we couldn't stay longer and help more."
-Lucy Brehm, Portland, OR
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PEACE's Help the Animals
If you like the following video, read our article about PEACE's Help the Animals here.
PEACE
If you like the following video, read our article about PEACE here.
PEACE
Before coming to Mexico, PEACE founder Molly Fisher was a teacher at a high school in Colorado where about half of the students were Hispanic. In the hopes of becoming a better teacher, Molly visited Mexico in order to learn more about the country’s culture and language. However, she liked Mexico so much, she never left, and after teaching science at the American School of Puerto Vallarta, she founded PEACE in 2005.
When asked about what inspired PEACE, Molly answered, “Looking around, it just seemed like a lot of needs weren’t being met in different communities, and so I didn’t think that just an animal program or just an educational program would do the trick. PEACE is a way to really involve the entire community. If one part of the community is off-balance, then the entire community can be off-balance. It’s more holistic.”
PEACE is an incredibly ambitious organization. Its name is an acronym for Protection, Education, Animals, Culture, and Environment, and its mission is to “facilitate sustainable programs and nurture self-empowerment throughout Mexico by providing communities and individuals with tools to improve their quality of life.” PEACE does this through a number of programs.
The first program is Ayuda a los Animales, or “Help the Animals.” It is a mobile animal clinic that travels to a different town in the area each week and offers four-day veterinary clinics with free spaying and neutering. Help the Animals travels to about thirty towns per year.
Casa Comunidad is the educational program, and probably PEACE’s largest. It’s a daily after-school program from 3-5 PM. PEACE worked with local schools and teachers to develop the curriculum, which is project-based and features a different theme centered around ecology, health, or journalism each bimester.
Another program is Orgullo en la Comunidad, or “Community Pride.” This is the environmental aspect of PEACE. Its work includes recycling projects, compost projects, and beach and arroyo cleanups, all of which are done in conjunction with local leaders, businesses, schools, and students.
Fourth is Manos Unidas por la Mujer (“United Hands for Women”). This program teaches local women how to make and sell Mexican handicrafts and folk art using recycled and donated materials. Its effects are numerous – the women make some extra money, their confidence and self-esteem grow, and some even start their own businesses.
Since PEACE’s work is so extensive, there are countless opportunities to volunteer. Reading with kindergarten students, working at an animal clinic or recycling project, and building a park are just a few examples of what can be done. Some volunteers even work outside of Mexico, doing jobs such as translating documents, searching for grants, and holding PEACE parties in their homes to sell products made by the women of United Hands.
Of course, PEACE also appreciates donations. Money donations can be either unrestricted or earmarked for a specific program. As far as materials, the organization is always looking for food, clothing, computers, vehicles, fabric and cloth, newspapers, magazines, and beads. For more information about volunteering or donations, please visit PEACE’s website.
At the end of our interview, we asked Molly about her favorite memories from PEACE. This is what she said: “There are so many every day. Like seeing the woman [from United Hands] that literally was unable to work before this opportunity and [now she] buys the medicine for her kid. To see that whole change happening [is] amazing. With the animal program, you always get people that walk miles to bring their animals in. It’s inspirational when you see people that really do care. With the educational program, there’s the child that is nine years old and never went to school and he finally learns his vowels. On the donor side, being able to connect donors into the community, being able to take them around and show them how their donations are being spent and seeing their eyes sparkle and light up… they’re more part of the community and they can see the impact of their goodwill.”
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PEACE's Help the Animals
One of PEACE’s main programs is called “Ayuda a los Animales,” or “Help the Animals.” It consists of weekly four-day clinics in small towns and villages around Banderas Bay. The goal of these clinics is to control the area’s animal population through free spaying and neutering, and to offer education about humane animal care.
We visited one of the clinics in Nogalito, a small village about twenty minutes south of Vallarta, on a rainy afternoon in October. We knew we were at the right place when we saw a garage with a PEACE sign. Despite the weather, the small building was filled with the bustle and good humor of a mix of people: PEACE founder Molly and her husband Lalo, veterinarians, volunteers, and pet owners.
The process is divided into four areas. First is the waiting area. Here, the dogs wait while all the cats are taken care of first. This is because the cats take longer to wake up from anesthesia (2½ to 3 hours) – since dogs are bigger, they take only an hour to 1½ hours to wake up. The second area is pre-op. Here, the animals are sedated, given anesthesia, and shaved. They are also vaccinated for ticks and fleas. The operation area is the third stop, and this is where the dogs and cats are spayed and neutered. Finally, the animals go to post-op, or recovery. Here, their heart rates, breathing, and temperatures are monitored, and they’re turned over every fifteen minutes so that they aren’t numb on one side when they wake up.
Last year, Help the Animals sterilized over 3,000 dogs and cats. Most of the animals are pets, but street animals are also taken care of – last year, the organization cared for and gave over 200 animals up for adoption.
Help the Animals relies on the work of volunteers and donations of supplies and money. Volunteers can do a number of things, including registration, working with the animals, or bringing food. As far as supplies, veterinary basics are always needed – old towels, sutures, surgical gloves, and Vaseline. Pet supplies such as collars, leashes, and food are also appreciated. Money can be donated via Paypal on PEACE’s website, at the PEACE kiosk in Puerto Vallarta’s airport, or at the PEACE office in Nayarit.
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